Lonely Heart
by Shalla Bal
Summary: Imagines a different twist on events in recent episodes. As Mace struggles to find a new role at SHIELD despite losing his authority and learning that he may have to give up his super powers as well, Daisy feels inexplicably drawn to help him. After everything she's been through, there's no way she's ever going to let herself fall in love again...right? Daisy/Mace!
1. Prologue

**Prologue: A matter of perspective**

Daisy made her way through the darkened underbelly of the ship, sliding along walls and slinking through corridors, listening intently as she went. Somewhere in this creepy-ass villain's lair on the high seas, they were keeping Jeffrey Mace. And she was going to save him.

A couple of armed guards darted out at Daisy seemingly out of nowhere, but the suddenness hardly surprised her. It was tough to see much of anything down here. Her arm shot out instinctively and the guards fell quietly to the floor, thanks to the blast of power she'd sent at them.

Allowing herself a small smirk of satisfaction, Daisy stepped over their prone forms and found the next door. She heard a muffled voice and the sound of a chair moving slightly, its legs scraping the floor. Pushing the door forward with her shoulder, she held out her gun in preparation for whatever might await.

Alone in the room, Mace looked up in total surprise at her arrival, his face lighting up for a split second before his expression turned dour.

"You shouldn't have come," Jeffrey said a little hoarsely, then coughed. He was tied to a chair clad in only his pants, and the place was freezing. Their breaths puffed in front of them in the cold air as fury coursed through her. Recent wounds were scattered all over him, cuts and bruises on his face, chest, arms, and stomach reflecting torture by Shockley and Ivanov. She swallowed back a wave of rage, wishing she could make them pay for hurting Mace.

"Yeah, maybe not," Daisy admitted, and she could feel that her pain at his abused appearance was showing despite her smile.

"But I'm here anyway," she assured him. She took a step forward and slid to the floor beside him, starting to untie the ropes that bound him.

Their eyes met, and she was once again staggered by the blazing blue of Mace's gaze. Daisy smiled more softly than she usually let herself and said, "I'm here for you."

He opened his mouth to reply, but just then, Ivanov cleared his throat. There he stood in the doorway, gun in hand and more guards flanking him.

"Actually," Ivanov said by way of greeting, "The Director here was right. You should not have come." As he pointed the gun directly at Daisy, she rolled her eyes.

 _Sorry, you bunch of despicable, racist bastards_ , she thought, summoning every ounce of confidence she possessed. _There's no way I'm not leaving here with Mace._

Standing with her arms raised, Daisy grinned at Ivanov. "That's what you think."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Royal blues**

 **A few days earlier**

After the assassination attempt on Director Mace and subsequent battle revealed his secret, that he was not an inhuman but a regular person masquerading as one, his attitude around the SHIELD offices shifted subtly.

Daisy knew it had to be hard, ceding power back to Coulson, even knowing as they all did that it was the best and only solution. Mace was an ideal face for the agency, even his facade ensured that. But he was also much more than that facade. Though she'd never let him know it with her words, Daisy had seen the potential for real heroism in Mace. The fact that he'd been willing to submit to the experimental serum that made his super-strength possible proved his determination to serve his country for the greater good.

Nowadays, Mace's shoulders seemed just a little slumped, and there was a sadness in his every expression and gesture that for some odd reason _bothered_ Daisy. As the actual, real Director, Mace had embodied the very essence of vital, even egotistical authority with his over-the-top genial, reasonable manner making his more insistent moments more palatable for _some_ — while for others, like Simmons, it made his occasionally very questionable command decisions especially irritating.

You couldn't hate a guy who was just so damn nice and well-meaning. And _that_ could be very annoying.

"Hey," Daisy said by way of greeting as she entered the med lab and saw Mace working through some more tests to figure out if there was any way for him to continue using his serum safely. Every indication Simmons had gathered thus far said that the serum was harming Jeffrey with every injection, and could eventually turn deadly. Again, a tough pill for the erstwhile Director and aspiring superhero to swallow.

Even though her powers had been forced upon her, Daisy had to admit to herself that she couldn't now imagine life without them. Wouldn't _want_ to live without them. They'd become just as natural a part of her as breathing. Maybe that was the core truth of being Inhuman, after all.

But that didn't mean she had to like people calling her Quake. She'd be the one to choose her own name, thank you very much. That was how it had always been, after all. She thrived on her independence; it was the source of her confidence.

It had been so comforting to slip back into that alone-ness after Lincoln's death. Out there on her own, fending for herself, fighting her inner demons through the process of that delicious autonomy had been all too fleeting a life. Something just kept drawing her back to SHIELD like a magnet. Like it or not, no matter how strong or feisty she prided herself on being, no matter how self-sufficient…she loved these people. She needed them.

At least Daisy wasn't currently _in_ love though, and she intended to keep it that way. If there was one lesson she'd learned from the ordeals of Ward's betrayal and losing Lincoln, it was that maybe she just wasn't meant to find _the one_. Perhaps that was why she'd always been so attracted to the role of solitary rebel.

Love just hurt too much. Like, way, way, _way_ too much.

Still, it wasn't her fault she had _eyes_ and perfectly functioning vision, so when she caught sight of Mace running shirtless on the treadmill, Daisy took pause for just a beat.

 _Damn_.

Tanned and just sweaty enough to add that extra touch of sexiness to the moment, Mace's beautiful, muscled physique was _totally_ impossible to ignore. You know, unless you just _hated_ hotness for some reason, Daisy thought with a half-smile.

She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow, saying drily, "Hey there, Director."

Mace started slightly, tapping the treadmill's console to slow his pace until he could stop. "You really don't have to call me that when the press isn't around," Mace replied sheepishly. He took a towel and patted his forehead. "You can just call me Jeffrey."

"You know, when I first met Agent Coulson, he wouldn't even let me call him Phil," Daisy recalled.

"And now?" Mace asked, carefully removing his monitoring gear and laying it gently on Simmons' desk.

"Now, I call him whatever I want," Daisy chuckled. "So, how goes the testing?"

"It goes pretty bleakly, I'm afraid," he responded glumly. "I guess I was seriously under-qualified to be Director, and having seen what Coulson can do, I see the difference and why I failed. But I thought at _least_ I'd be able to keep my powers, so I could stay in the fight and make a real difference." He shrugged. But the question of who he was now and what he could be at SHIELD lingered in the air, with no need for him to say it aloud. She understood.

"Hey," Daisy said, laying her hand gently on his arm before realizing that the gesture carried an accidental intimacy, given his semi-unclothed state. She removed her fingers, but not before registering that he'd done a very slight double-take at the momentary contact between them. "You didn't fail. You did a lot of good around here, actually. Made some tough calls in no-win scenarios. Sometimes they worked and sometimes not, but making those calls at all? That's about as brave as a person can get."

" _If_ they've got the skills and the wisdom to do it," Mace answered, his eyes clouded with self-reproach. "Otherwise, maybe they should just get back to the sidelines with the rest of the fanboys and let the real heroes do their job."

"Don't talk like that," Daisy said quietly, concerned. She almost added "Jeffrey" to the end of the sentence but stopped short. There was something a little too personal to the sound of the word that halted her.

Simmons returned just then and reviewed the results from Mace's tests. She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"It's not good, is it?" Mace asked, making it obvious that he already knew as much.

"No," Simmons admitted. "I'm sorry, Director."

"Would everyone _please_ stop calling me that when the press isn't around?" Mace's annoyance was growing, but it was so clearly propelled by inward self-deprecation that it could hardly be insulting to Simmons.

"Sorry," Simmons said again, "Jeffrey, the tests show that…" As Jemma's voice rang out in her usual pleasant and brilliant manner, explaining the reasons why the serum was dangerous, Daisy observed to herself, _See,_ Simmons _can call him Jeffrey like it's no big deal. Get it together._

"Yeah, okay, that sounds pretty…final," Mace said once Jemma had run through all the facts. Unfortunately, Fitz chose that moment to burst in and joyfully begin telling them about the brand new suit he'd made for Mace to wear in the field.

His superhero suit.

"Fitz, just stop — stop," Daisy requested.

"Our testing has concluded that Director Mace can no longer use the serum without serious threats to his health and well-being," Simmons announced.

"Well, you could have told me that before I started doing my whole… _thing_!" Fitz retorted in exasperation. Any humor in the moment felt deflated by the despondent look on Mace's face.

"I'll just have to find a new role here at SHIELD," Jeffrey determined, a hint of his former chipper attitude coming back into his tone. It seemed like he was trying to convince himself that this would be an exciting new journey. " _So_ , that gives me plenty to think about. Somewhere other than here. I'll see you all later."

Daisy, Fitz, and Simmons exchanged sympathetic glances. But no one in Mace's position wanted sympathy, hard as it was to help feeling it. Daisy wished there was some way she could help him.

But why did it seem so _important_ all of a sudden?


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Sweet poison**

That evening, Daisy was heading off to bed when she noticed Mace sitting alone at the bar, nursing a glass of whiskey.

"Coulson's just _got_ to have a bar put into every SHIELD headquarters," Daisy observed casually, slipping onto the stool beside him. "It's mandatory, like making sure Lola has a cozy place to park."

"Yeah, having a bar is cool," Jeffrey acknowledged, his eyes bleary and his voice a little wavering. As she'd suspected, that definitely wasn't his first drink by a long shot. "Comes in handy, too."

"Sorry if I'm being intrusive, but you, um, you don't exactly seem like the heavy drinking type," Daisy remarked, slowly moving the drink away from Mace. He didn't move to take it back, but instead smiled at her, his expression gentle.

"You thirsty?" he asked, and she shook her head. Why did he have to be so adorably helpless lately? Daisy's reaction to it was breaking her resolution to stay out of his orbit.

"Let me help you out here," Daisy said decisively, standing to pour him a glass of water. "Drink that."

"Yes, ma'am," Mace agreed jauntily, slurring the words. He took a sip of the water and then squinted down at the glass. "I don't think this is going to prevent the hangover. Believe me, I earned it."

"I can tell," she agreed, "but it might take the edge off. I also think that you should get some sleep."

"Are you the Director of _me_ now?" Jeffrey asked, chuckling as he shook his head. "Cause I'm not so sure I hate that idea." He paused, seeming momentarily lucid as their gazes met and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Come on," she said as soon as he'd finished the water. "Let me help you to your room."

"Oh, that's alright," Mace said, waving her off as he attempted to stand and get his bearings, swaying slightly. "I got this."

Before he could topple over, Daisy swooped in and placed his arm around her shoulders, grasping his waist. She tried to ignore how insanely _good_ his body felt in her arms, beneath her fingers. "I can see that," she joked, leading him to his room, his steps uncertain and his warm, strong hand staying on her shoulder, relying on her reassuring presence.

"Here we go," Daisy announced as they entered his quarters and Mace immediately collapsed onto his bed.

"I don't know if you'll remember this tomorrow," she said wryly, "but I've gotta say it anyway. Don't do this to yourself, man. You've got so much to offer. Stop punishing yourself."

"Ohhhh," Mace commented, staring upward, "Does the ceiling always do that spinning thing? Cause I don't remember that."

"Don't change the subject," Daisy grinned, sitting down beside him on the bed. "All of us around here, we've noticed how hard you work, what you bring to the team. You _matter_ , and don't act otherwise. That's all I'm saying."

"Well," Mace said, turning over on his side to look up at her, "The last thing I want to do is to be a complainer. You know what I always say: complainers finish last!" He pointed with faux enthusiasm, driving home the mockery of his formerly upbeat manner and habit of dropping cheesy motivational phrases.

"You can ignore me, or give me all the sarcastic answers you want, but I'm not giving up on you," Daisy answered, the warmth in her words revealing a certain sentimentality about him she'd been determined to keep hidden. Oops.

"Two things, Daisy, uh, Daisy if I may? I mean, do you want me to call you Agent Johnson?" He peered up at her searchingly. Even now, he was so damn sincere. She'd genuinely never met anyone quite like him.

Daisy giggled, "No! Don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous is my starting point," Jeffrey replied, his voice thick with intoxicated exhaustion, his intelligence asserting itself despite his weakened state. "So, okay, two things, right? Yeah. One, I could never ignore you, Agent Daisy Johnson. I'm pretty sure _nobody_ could ignore you." She blushed slightly, which no one could make her do. Wow. "Second? Uhhh…I guess I'm wondering why do you care so much?"

"Hmm," she replied, weighing her words carefully. "It's kind of what I do. I look out for the people around me. I protect them. I respect them. And if I see them sinking, I help them to come back up to the surface. It's what SHIELD's all about, and even though I tried to get out of the life…" She shook her head. "I can't. It's who I am. It's who you are, too. Don't forget that either. We're the shield."

"Damn, Daisy, your motivational speeches put mine to shame. So that's it? You care about what I'm going through because it's, like, _your duty_?" His jumbled words and fogged understanding did nothing to conceal his disappointed expression.

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked, diverting attention from his implication by asking the bold question. Surely, he wouldn't go there — if _there_ actually was the same place her own thoughts had wandered lately.

"Never mind," Mace replied, sighing, his eyes fluttering as sleep started to descend on him. "Thank you, Daisy. You're just so kind and strong and brilliant, and _so_ beautiful. More beautiful than anyone really _should_ be, you know?" With that, he rolled onto his stomach and fell into a deep sleep, leaving Daisy standing with her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. A buzzing sensation seemed to sweep her from head to toe as she crept out of his quarters and returned to her own room.

The next day, they both played it casual. Daisy tossed a bottle of headache medicine Mace's way when they arrived at the briefing room in the morning.

"Thanks," he winced, clearly just as hungover as he'd expected to be.

"Keep it," Daisy murmured to Mace as Coulson and the others came in for the latest update on their two main problems: Radcliffe and Shockley.

"Just do me one favor in exchange," she continued quietly. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Go easy on yourself. Like I said last night."

"I don't remember anything we said last night," Mace began, but Daisy cut him off briskly.

"Yeah, you do."

"Yeah, I do," Mace admitted just as quickly. They both laughed. Then he looked into her eyes and added, "Every word."

Coulson launched into the briefing just then, and they went over a plan to sabotage their enemies' latest plans. While she fully took in the meeting and went over her own role in the operation dutifully in her mind's eye, her heart seemed to be stuck on repeat.

"Every word." There was something so manly and noble in Mace's completely guileless honesty, and it attracted her to him like a magnet. There was no point trying to cram the feelings she was developing for Jeffrey back into her subconscious. However, she was going to have to decide what, if anything, to do about it.

 _God, I tried_ so _hard to keep the walls up around myself this time_ , Daisy pondered. When Mace looked back at her, just once, so intently, on his way out the door, she followed the thought up. _Crash_.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Let the night fall**

When the battle began, Daisy stared Shockley down fearlessly, her fury at his vendetta against her people spurring her on even as the villain destroyed everything around him with his relentless explosions. She used her own abilities to repel his attacks back at him, but Shockley seemed to die and be reborn with effortless energy.

"I really hate this guy," Daisy murmured darkly. Behind her, Mace led a team of field agents who all had her back, but their mission to take Shockley in was well on its way to being a total disaster.

As Shockley blasted her again, Daisy caught the impending explosion midair with her powers and returned it tenfold. However, this time he just laughed and created a wall of destructive energy in front of him that caused the power she'd sent in a wave of quake energy to ignite into a massive blast. The resulting fire came raging at her so quickly that the only thing she had time to do was jump down and tuck her head under her arms, desperately hoping that Fitz's modification to her suit had been every bit as fireproof as he'd claimed.

Suddenly, she felt herself whisked away from the coming onslaught as easily as if she were a ragdoll, and out of the corner of one smoke-stung eye, she saw that Mace had swept in to grab her at the very last moment, carrying her to safety. Without the slightest hesitation, he then turned and lunged at Shockley, plowing through a few of the enemy lackeys in a manner that confirmed he must have taken the serum again.

"Wait," Daisy coughed, trying to regain her strength.

"Agent Johnson, we've got to move!" One of the agents shouted to her.

Daisy followed out of instinct but kept hesitating. The agent, a young woman named Gracelle who was cradling an injured arm and kept muttering mission updates into her headset, explained the situation further.

"Director Mace gave us orders to retreat and allow him to be seized by the enemy. It was the only way to avoid further bloodshed. We've got to reconvene with Agent Coulson and find a new way to take Shockley down."

"What?" Daisy asked, her feet seeming to take root in the ground of their own volition. She couldn't leave Mace, let him sacrifice himself like this. "No! I can go back, I can save him, I can stop Shockley."

"I need you to help me get the others to safety. Sometimes we lose a battle to win the war," Gracelle reminded her. "Really, Agent Johnson, we've got to move, or we risk losing the whole team."

Her heart lodged painfully in her throat, Daisy fought back tears that had nothing to do with fire and smoke. She flew into action, helping everyone get back to base in one piece.

But once she did get back, and mercifully discovered that Coulson and May were off on a mission involving Radcliffe and therefore unable to tell her not to follow up on any stupid ideas that might enter her head, Daisy knew what she had to do.

It was easy enough to get Mack to help with her new plan, despite his complaints about the obvious danger of her decision to go into this situation alone, on enemy ground. He knew all too well that if he didn't help Daisy, she'd find someone else, probably less capable than him, to go along. And he wouldn't allow that.

So there they were, hovering above Shockley and Ivanov's boat in a cloaked plane.

"Daisy?" Mack called right before Daisy prepared to parachute towards the vessel that drifted on the pitch-black, icy waters below. It was a frigid night and the boat waiting below moved slowly, the deck overrun by armed guards on patrol. _Homey_ , she thought sarcastically. "I _really_ don't know about this," Mack warned.

"Mack, I have to it." She poised herself for the jump, steeling her nerves.

"Because of what Mace did for you and the team last night?" Mack asked.

"Yes," She said firmly.

"Is that the only reason?" Mack added suspiciously.

"I'll tell you all about it as soon as you fill me in on your relationship with YoYo," Daisy offered with a smirk.

"Never mind," Mack groaned. "Just be safe out there. I mean it."

"Follow the plan," Daisy answered, "I'll see you on the other side." She winked and leaped out into open air.

Landing neatly on the deck, having calculated her arrival to evade the guards' pattern of walking the perimeter, Daisy watched as Mack set off a flare in the opposite direction of her landing, so that the guards were distracted. She used the chance to get below deck and start looking around.

And if that search led to Mace, only for her rescue mission to be rudely interrupted by Ivanov and his goons? So what. Daisy wasn't going to give up now.

"The Director was right," Ivanov told her smugly. "You should not have come."

"That's what you think," Daisy replied smoothly, raising her hands in surrender but thinking several moves ahead.

She shot out blasts of quake power that knocked out several guards, but in the scuffle Ivanov managed to get a gun to Mace's head, forcing her to submit at last.

Soon enough, she was tied to a chair right across from Jeffrey, cursing the gods of bad timing. Ivanov had clamped clunky cuffs on her wrists that suppressed her powers, sort of like the gloves Simmons had made a while ago, only definitely _not_ designed with comfort in mind. This would certainly make escape from the chair a bit more challenging.

"I'll let you settle into your accommodations," Ivanov said with mock courtesy. "Having two inhuman SHIELD agents instead of just one is quite the pleasant surprise. I'll enjoy watching each of your faces as I torture the other for information. See you later."

"Go to hell," Daisy spat uselessly at him as Jeffrey shook his head and glared at the floor.

The door closed behind Ivanov and Mace's eyes were back on Daisy, blazing with anger.

"What were you _thinking_? Coming here alone?" Mace demanded.

"I'm not alone," Daisy assured him. "Mack's up there," she nodded upwards, "cloaked. If I don't come back by the appointed time, he'll call reinforcements and we'll be all set."

"It's just that…" Jeffrey's words trailed off in resignation. "I didn't give myself up so that my fellow agents would get into more danger. I did it to protect you all."

"I know," Daisy smiled, trying to summon her power but finding it cut off at the source. She shifted her wrists as the rough ropes cut into her skin painfully. "Because you _are_ one of us. You're the shield. And you don't need any serum to prove that, either."

"If I still had the serum in my system, I could bust out of these ropes and untie you right now," Mace reminded her.

"We'll find another way," Daisy assured him. "We can have a little talk about you endangering yourself with that poison just to be a super soldier some other time."

"I'm not going to apologize for doing whatever it takes to keep you alive," Mace replied sternly, then caught himself and added, "I mean, to keep my fellow agents alive."

Daisy blushed again, and this was definitely not the time for blushing. "We're having that conversation," she insisted. "For now, let's get out of this damn freezer."

Mace's lips were slightly tinged blue, his toes curled under as if for warmth, bringing Daisy's own anger back to the surface.

She didn't have to ask how long they'd kept him in here like this, or what they'd done to him. It was written across Mace's face and conveyed with sadly eloquent clarity in his body language, though he was fighting hard to sit up straight and stay awake.

"Okay, I think we've spent just about enough time here," Daisy announced, dragging her chair slowly but surely towards Mace's. When they were back to back, she reached her fingers out carefully and began working on his bindings. Finally, she managed to use the sharp edge of the power-suppressing cuffs to slice through one rope.

"Ow," Mace remarked as she accidentally nipped his wrist.

"Sorry, but…presto!" Daisy proclaimed proudly as the ropes fell from Mace's hands. He freed her, but they couldn't wrest the cuffs from her hands. There had to be some kind of key or remote controlled item in Ivanov's possession.

Jeffrey found his suit crumpled on a table in the corner and began slowly, painfully getting it back on. Daisy crossed her arms and said, "Do not take any more serum." He looked at her in disbelief, as if he failed to comprehend why she would even make such a request. "Jeffrey," she added, "You can't."

Mace smiled for just a second. "I was wondering if you were ever going to start calling me that." Then he looked at her with no defense for his obvious intentions, only a good reason. "Daisy, how else are we gonna get out of here?"

"SHIELD training? Our wits and considerable brawn?" Daisy suggested, humor tinging the words just slightly as she stepped closer. He zipped the front of his suit and took a dose of serum from the belt, holding it up.

"Listen," Mace explained, "whatever this stuff is doing to me, it's been doing it for quite a while now. What difference will one more dose make? Especially compared to what might happen to you if things go sideways. And…you can't stop me from taking it."

"Can't I?" Daisy asked, placing her hand over his own, over the vial. She leaned up and planted a kiss on his mouth, the contrast between his icy lips and her own warmer ones shocking, the current of emotion and desire between them immediate and strong.

She drew back and addressed his amazed expression with one request. "Don't take this." She plucked it from his fingers and he let her do it.

"I'm practically limping," Mace pointed out. "And you have no powers. This doesn't look too promising."

Daisy discovered his boots under the table and handed them over. "Get ready. We can't wait for reinforcements and risk being tortured and killed by Ivanov, so we'll have to improvise."

"Delightful," Mace said, the sarcasm feeling somehow ill-fitting on him. "I'll follow your lead."

They crept into the hall and then into the next room. It was a veritable explosion of gear and tech strewn all over the place, laptops and tablets displaying all manner of intel while whiteboards and newspaper collages revealed Ivanov's investigations.

"Well, _hello_ there, badly organized mad scientist's lab," Daisy grinned exuberantly.

"Nice," Jeffrey breathed with gratitude. He picked up one of the tablets and showed it to her. It displayed an image of the cuffs she was wearing. "I wonder what _this_ does?" He asked, a twinkle back in his eyes. He slid the control module on the tablet easily from "activated" to "deactivated," and the cuffs unlocked themselves. Daisy yanked them off and deposited them to the floor, where she stepped on them for good measure.

"Now that's one hell of a satisfying crunch," she smiled.

"When we get back, we'd better tell Coulson that Ivanov's got some kind of obsession with him," Jeffrey noted, nodding to the whiteboards and clipping collages that surrounded them. Looking closer now, Daisy could see that instead of a smattering of different inhumans and SHIELD agents like she'd expected, it was a bizarre tribute to Coulson's activities right from the beginning of the Avengers project up to now.

"Creepy," she shuddered. "All Coulson needs is one more villain stalking him."

"Now we're one step ahead of Ivanov," Mace observed, "So let's make our exit so we can take advantage of it."

"I think I can help with that," Daisy said, feeling the energy of her powers coursing through her once more.

Between Daisy's powers and Mace turning out to be a damn good shot when he believed in himself, they made it to the deck and were promptly rescued by Mack.

"Glad you're both okay," Mack greeted them right before they flew off. "I gotta admit, that was pretty smooth, guys. You make a hell of a team."

"Yeah, we do," Daisy agreed, subtly taking Mace's hand in her own as Mack turned to face the controls of the plane. The warmth was gradually starting to come back into his skin, and he reached out with his other hand to brush a hair from her face, the gesture tender and yet deliberate. As if he had no problem showing her how he felt. As for how _she_ felt…it was a good thing they had action and adventure to distract her from the intensity of it. For now.

"When we get back to base, we'll need to talk to Coulson right away," Daisy told Mack. "We've got work to do."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Like lost teenagers**

Coulson had chased down a new lead on Radcliffe that could lead directly to May's rescue, and dealing with Ivanov's vendetta against him was going to have to wait.

"I hope it works out," Mace told Daisy as they sat down for lunch one afternoon soon after their return. "I know Agent May's hardly a fan of mine, but we need her. I actually kind of miss the deadly glares she always throws my way. She keeps me on my toes."

"May's good at that," Daisy agreed with a laugh. "Actually, she's amazingly good at most things." She sighed, missing her friend and mentor more than words could really express. "As soon as we find out where she is, I'm on the next plane there."

"You're a great friend," Mace observed, unwrapping a sandwich as she stuck a fork into noodles she was far too nerved up to really taste. Still coming down from the adrenaline of the last mission while worrying about May and trying to process her feelings for Jeffrey was making her head spin. Yet that last part…it wasn't so terrifying anymore. The rapport between her and Mace felt so natural, so sweetly comforting that resisting it seemed increasingly absurd.

"You're not so bad yourself," Daisy answered, slowly twisting the noodles around her fork and pretending the visual was fascinating enough to allow for the withdrawal of her gaze from his own. _You have_ got _to stop blushing_ , she ordered herself. "Not sure I even got the chance yet to thank you for saving me and the whole team the other night."

"I think you thanked me pretty effectively on the boat," Jeffrey replied, obviously referring to their way-too-brief kiss, the one that she couldn't stop replaying in her mind. Her stomach somersaulted and she summoned the nerve to meet his eyes.

"You think that's the best I can do?" She asked in a sudden bout of shamelessness.

"I'd be a fool to think that," Mace answered immediately. "Do I get a chance to thank _you_ for saving me?"

"No time like the present," Daisy said, her breath catching slightly at her own daring words. She just couldn't help letting the tide carry her away. Couldn't help _needing_ this particular surrender.

Unfortunately, Simmons and Fitz came in right at that moment, chattering up a storm and having a spirited debate about the best way to deal with corrupted artificial intelligence.

Leo and Jemma were in the middle of one of their classic simultaneously-speaking-yet-hearing-each-other debates when they happened to look over at Daisy and Mace and stopped short.

Perhaps it was the permablush on Daisy's cheeks or Mace's flustered expression, or maybe Daisy's heart was actually beating so hard that they could hear it.

" _Ohhhh!_ ," Simmons exclaimed in surprise.

" _You_ two!" Fitz said, pointing back and forth between Daisy and Mace thoughtfully.

"We're _so_ sorry," Simmons added, "We didn't mean to interrupt! Let's go, Fitz."

"Guys, it's fine," Daisy assured them, "You don't have to leave."

"Oh, I think we do," Jemma answered with an exaggerated emphasis that made Daisy laugh.

"Really, we're, uh, just having lunch. Join us!" Mace invited in his usual friendly way. Then he paused and seemed suddenly very confused and disoriented.

"Jeffrey?" Daisy asked in surprised concern at his sudden change in expression.

"I feel…strange," Mace explained shakily, and then more than his voice was shaking. Tremors seemed to rack his whole body and Daisy rushed to catch him as he toppled over.

"What's happening?" She asked Simmons in a panic, ice water suddenly running through her veins, fear squeezing her heart.

"It could be the after-effects of the serum on the Director's body," Simmons guessed, taking his pulse and breathing a sigh of relief. "Perhaps even symptoms of withdrawal."

"What do we do?" Daisy asked, feeling helpless.

"Let's get him to the med lab right away," Jemma answered, her confident demeanor restoring some of Daisy's own composure. "I'm sure he'll be fine, but we've got to figure out what's going on and stop it as quickly as possible."

Mace regained consciousness about a half hour later and woke in the med lab to find Daisy and Simmons standing by his bed, Mack and Fitz hovering in the background.

"Guys," Mace grinned, but the smile seemed to hurt. His voice sounded ragged. "You really do care."

"Glad you're awake, man," Mack said in his typically comforting way.

"Simmons has a theory about what caused your seizure," Fitz said, nodding at Jemma.

Daisy took Mace's hand and gave him a reassuring smile that was haunted by her worry.

"It seems that, as I feared, the serum has already altered your body's normal regulation, and there are some unsightly after-effects we'll have to sort through. You may have been able to control when you took the serum and didn't experience cravings while taking it regularly, but the drug still acted as an addictive one. And now you're experiencing a difficult withdrawal." Simmons gave a sympathetic wince.

" _Difficult_ , that's the word," Mace replied, letting a shaky breath out.

"What can we do?" Daisy asked, all too aware of the slight tremble still vibrating in Jeffrey's sweat-moistened hand.

"Well, for starters," Jemma proposed, her voice kind and soothing, "We can provide the Direc— I mean, we can provide Jeffery with standard seizure medication so that if he happens to experience another incident like this, it can be stopped at once."

"Anything we can do to stop it happening at all?" Daisy wondered aloud.

"Do we know how long this might keep happening?" Mace added anxiously.

"While it's unpredictable, I'd expect any further seizures, if they do occur, to happen within the next few weeks before tapering off. The real problem is to ensure that any permanent after-effects within the realm of possibility, such as occasional shaking or loss of movement, _don't_ occur." Simmons pressed her lips together and clasped her tablet to her chest in nervous sympathy.

"How likely is this permanent damage?" Mace asked.

"Given that you only used the serum for a few months, I'd say they should be minimal, if they do happen at all," Jemma estimated. "Still, we'll need to do some tests to make sure. And I'll also start working to find a counteragent for you. Something to negate the drug's aftereffects on your body."

"That would be wonderful, Agent Simmons," Mace replied slowly, keeping his trademark courtesy intact. Daisy had gone stone silent.

She was storming down the corridor when he caught up with her. "Where are you going?" Jeffrey asked, struggling to keep up. Her awareness that he was still weakened and yet following her out of concern made Daisy stop in her tracks.

"You should be resting," Daisy answered in clipped tones, trying to get a hold on her temper. "I'm going to find Talbot and give him a piece of my mind! How could he ever suggest that you take that serum _or_ okay this entire super solider operation? This is on him."

"Daisy," Mace said, taking her by the shoulders, "It's on _me_. I knew what I was getting into. I knew there was a chance, however slim, that the serum might endanger my health. I chose to take that chance because I believed in the work we were going to do. I didn't go into this blindly. Why are you so eager to find someone to blame?"

She felt like bursting into tears but instead, she slipped her arm through his. "Come on, let me help you back to your room. That's what I should have done in the first place, instead of acting like an angry teenager. I'm sorry."

They were quiet on the way to his quarters. Once they were inside, Mace pulled Daisy into his arms and she melted into the hug automatically.

"Don't be sorry," he murmured, " _Thank you_. Thank you for being the best friend I've had in a very long time."

Daisy drew back slightly and threaded her fingers through his delicately, tentatively. "You know it's more than that," she replied, and he nodded.

"I know," Mace acknowledged, dipping his head slightly to catch her waiting lips with his own.

"We shouldn't be doing this now," Daisy suggested against her every instinct. "You should—"

"I should rest," Jeffrey agreed, but there was a sparkle in his eye suggesting he had other plans. "Okay. But you know what I really need first? A shower. I'll be right out if you want to wait, and we can talk some more."

" _Talk_?" Daisy smirked, crossing her arms as he walked towards the bathroom.

"If that's what you want to do," Mace confirmed with all the appearance of the innocence he usually embodied, but she wasn't buying it this time.

Daisy flopped down on the bed and reached for the t.v. remote, but she couldn't quite keep the bathroom door out of the corner of one eye. He'd left it ever so slightly open.

"Daisy," Mace said simply when he heard the door open a little more. She eased her boots off and walked into the shower, still fully clothed and completely caught up in the perfect magnetism of his effect on her.

"Jeffrey," she replied just as easily, wrapping her arms around his neck as the hot water soaked them both, making her black suit into a sleek second skin.

"Now don't get me wrong," he whispered against her lips, "I do love talking to you, Daisy."

One hot, insatiable kiss later, she asked, "but?"

"Sometimes words fail me," Jeffrey admitted huskily. He cupped her cheek, running his hand through her water-slicked hair. She smiled and leaned into his touch, then guided his other hand to the zipper on the back of her suit. He slid it down with a sensuously slow motion indicating he was thoroughly her match when it came to the game of teasing. She finally let her eyes rove over his wet, bare body, reveling in just how daring and unexpected the moment was.

"What are we doing?" She asked, running her hands over the cuts and bruises on his torso. Despite the steaming water, he shivered at her touch. "I should be tucking you into bed with a cup of chicken soup."

"Well, we _did_ skip lunch," Mace reminded her coyly. "All the same…I think that could wait 'til later."

"Definitely," Daisy grinned, helping him to slide the suit down to her ankles, where she carefully removed the rest of it with her tiptoes dipping into each pant-leg.

"That was a very impressive operation," Mace complimented her, his own burning gaze locked on her scantily clad form. They kissed again, each time getting less polite and more demanding, his strong, muscled arms pulling her closer. As their bodies pressed together, she could feel his stiffness pressing against her thin, sheer panties and didn't bother suppressing a deep sigh.

"Mmm," Daisy murmured blissfully as he lifted her against the shower wall, her legs locking around his hips, her arms thrown around his neck, undone more and more with every searching kiss.

"You shouldn't be picking me up like that, after everything you've been through today, and _before_ that," Daisy managed to say through a haze of aching, half-satiated longing.

"You're right," Mace agreed, a smirk twisting his mouth adorably. "I should put you down."

Before she could process another thought, he'd carried her right into the bedroom, both of them soaking wet, and lowered her to the bed with confident fluidity.

She slipped her arms out of her bra and he tossed it aside, trailing his mouth from her neck down to her breasts. She gasped and pressed herself against his hardness as the playful sensation of his tongue against her nipples made her lose her mind more than slightly. Their audacious closeness, the friction in their lower regions, caused him to gasp as well, drawn towards the same flame that enticed her so readily.

Mace continued his exploration of her body, kissing and licking her stomach, then stroking her hips admiringly before lowering his mouth further as she eagerly pulled her panties down to grant him access. It only took a few moments of his attentions before Daisy needed more, much more of him.

She didn't hesitate to guide Mace right where she wanted him most. "Ahh," she moaned, throwing her head back as he entered her, his hands pressing her wrists into the mattress as she wrapped one leg around his back, urging him to go deeper. He followed the silent command and increased his speed just gradually enough to rack her body in ever-increasing waves of pleasure. Mace slipped his thumb between Daisy's lips and she sucked it softly before biting down just a little. He groaned in answering pleasure just before they tumbled over the edge of everything together.

Daisy took Mace's hand and laid it against her chest, where her heart was pounding relentlessly, her breaths coming fast and furious. " _Wow,_ " she managed.

"Are you cold?" He was still practically panting as he asked the characteristically polite question, making her giggle. Daisy nodded and yanked the covers down, pulling his still-damp body down into the soft sheets with her.

"The only thing missing is the chicken soup," Daisy winked as they lay on their sides staring at each other in awe.

"Later," Mace said again, "But not too much later. I'm getting hungry, aren't you?"

Daisy nodded. "Don't you have any food here?"

"I'll find something," he determined.

"Lay _down_ ," Daisy ordered him playfully, kissing his shoulder and pulling one of the blankets from the bed around herself for temporary warmth. She wobbled slightly on still buzzy legs, licking her beestung, delectably over-kissed lips as she smiled at the surreal situation.

A knock sounded at the door, prompting Daisy to stop in her tracks.

"Jeffrey, you're needed for a briefing," Coulson's voice called. Mace stumbled out of bed and landed on the floor while Daisy stifled a laugh.

"Be there right away," Mace replied, throwing some clothes on hurriedly.

 _Well, at least Coulson doesn't know I'm in here or why,_ Daisy thought gratefully, gathering the blanket tightly around herself. He was going to be mad enough about her rescue op without throwing in yet _another_ inter-agency romance. For now, with everything else going on, she'd love to keep this private moment, _private_.

There was a pause before Coulson's voice rang out again, "Oh, and Daisy, you'd better get down to the meeting, too. Afterwards, we can talk about your little off-books, unauthorized mission."

Then he was gone, leaving Daisy to groan, "Uhhh, fuck."

"Oops," Jeffrey grinned sheepishly, appearing before her with his pants back on and his shirt open. She buttoned it for him, having tucked the top of the blanket in to create a temporary garment for herself.

"Know what I just realized?" Daisy asked in a flush of embarrassment, but her afterglow undiminished. "I have _nothing_ to change into." They both thought about her Quake suit, still lying sopping wet on the floor of the shower.

"Did I mention, _oops_?" Mace repeated, biting his lip in thought, making her want to do the same to him right then, consequences be damned. Man, this was going to be a long meeting.

"Why don't you just throw this on?" Mace finally suggested, pulling a sweatsuit from his drawer. "It'll be huge on you, but you'll be able to get down the hall.

"Without being mistaken for the latest amateur rapper?" Daisy said dubiously. "Highly unlikely. But it does seem like my only option."

One extremely embarrassing sneaky stroll down the hall to her quarters later, Daisy reemerged in her own clothes and made her way to the meeting.

Without making the slighted intimation to any Daisy or Mace-related scandals, Coulson updated the team on his latest steps towards rescuing May. Fitz had managed to track down one of Radcliffe's facilities, and there was a good chance that this was where May was being held in the framework.

Once the rescue op had been planned, Coulson dismissed everyone except Daisy and Jeffrey. Daisy squeezed her eyes shut, wincing in advance and offering a quick "I'm sorry!" before Coulson even began his reprimand.

"Be quiet," Coulson barked, crossing his arms. "What you did, going to Ivanov's base with almost zero back-up, without even clearing your plans with me, was unbelievably dangerous and broke about a million rules. You could easily have been killed, along with Mace."

"Well, not _that_ easily," Daisy offered.

Coulson rolled his eyes. "I know you have powers, Daisy, but that doesn't make you invincible. And wanting to save your new boyfriend here doesn't mean you should treat _yourself_ as expendable."

Daisy suppressed a surprised smile at how much she loved the sound of Mace being referred to as her boyfriend. Damn, she had it bad.

"Phil, if I may," Jeffrey tried to put in, but Coulson cut him off.

"No, Jeffrey, you may not. Not yet. You two know the reasons why personal relationships among team members are forbidden at SHIELD. You also both know damn well that I'd be a hypocrite to tell you not to be together when my own feelings for May, and the fact that I let Fitzsimmons' relationship slide are so apparent."

"Well, I apprec—" Mace's words were again interrupted by Coulson.

"I'm not done yet," Phil repeated briskly. "It's just that that was a mouthful and I needed to take a breath. _But_ like I said, the rule is there for a reason. And there should pretty much be a _picture_ of you two in the SHIELD handbook next to the explanation of that reason. You can't let your feelings for each other cloud your judgement or your responsibilities."

Daisy nodded. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"I was going to try and take full responsibility for the op on Ivanov's boat, but uhhh," Jeffrey trailed off uncertainly.

"Don't bother," Coulson snapped. "Just remember that Daisy's damn right. It _won't_ happen again."

"Anything else?" Daisy asked, hoping the mood could now shift to a more pleasant one.

"Yeah," Coulson replied smoothly. He hugged Daisy, then shook Jeffrey's hand. "I'm glad you're both okay, and good work. Now, Daisy, let's go get May."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Somewhere in between lost and found**

It turned out to be a long and twisted rescue mission, to say the least. Before Coulson and Daisy's team could depart to save May, the SHIELD base was attacked and most of the team replaced by A.I. lookalikes. Everyone except Daisy, Jemma, and YoYo had been put into Radcliffe's dreaded Framework. There was nothing left to do but for Daisy and Simmons to enter the Framework themselves, with the benefit of knowing exactly what was going on — a knowledge their fellow agents had lost when the Framework enveloped their consciousnesses.

After getting the shock of her life to discover that in the Framework, she was in a romantic relationship with a surprisingly well-intentioned version of Grant Ward, and she was also a Hydra agent, Daisy reunited with Jemma in time to recruit Coulson, whose low-key Framework persona maintained some fragment of his real identity. They were also able to add Mack to their numbers as everyone headed to the underground SHIELD operation which bravely fought against the insanely powerful forces of HYDRA in this world.

"Finally," Daisy breathed in relief when she saw Mace, even though she knew he probably had no idea who she was. Nonetheless, she threw her arms around him and kissed him on the lips.

"That's quite a greeting," Jeffrey remarked in surprise, equally as weirded out as he was kind of intrigued. His smile was curious, his eyes shining with a sense that he felt some strange and inexplicable connection to this woman.

"I'm so happy to see you," Daisy explained, wiping a tear away. "I was terrified thinking about what might've happened to you. But now I see," she added, waving her hand around at the super-cool secret headquarters, "You're quite the badass here. Not that you aren't in real life."

She loved Jeffrey even more in seeing that his dream was to be a real leader within SHIELD, to fulfill the potential he'd been so afraid was negated by his inability to continue his Patriot injections. It was so heartbreakingly sweet and noble that it sort of killed her a little. But when would he learn that he didn't need to be an inhuman to be a hero?

Wait, love? Hmm. She'd have to think about that some more once they got the hell out of this nightmare world.

"Real life?" Mace questioned, still more confused.

"We have a great deal to explain to you, Sir," Jemma put in, while Coulson nodded.

"I always knew I was supposed to be a secret agent," Phil noted proudly, "I'm so glad I make my own soap."

"Huh?" Jeffrey said, as if it was the only possible response. Ward clapped him on the back.

"Don't worry, you get used to them talking like that," Ward explained, then paused to think about it. "Actually, scratch that, you don't."

They soon told Mace all about the truth of their situation, the need to gather up their friends and somehow make an escape from this place despite Fitz being a cruel and murderous despot in the Framework — and May being a high-ranking HYDRA agent.

Despite the difficulty Mace, Ward, and Mack felt in believing Daisy and Jemma's story, they sensed it carried enough water to take seriously.

Just as they were planning their next move, May showed up, having abnormally enhanced her fighting abilities. In the battle that ensued as she was joined by a seemingly endless stream of armed HYDRA agents on a rampage, the building was seriously damaged by enemy bombing. It culminated in the parking garage with a large section of the ceiling about to collapse on the band of SHIELD agents as they tried to flee, having already evacuated the inhumans they'd managed to help escape. They were only saved from instant death by Mace's super-powered grip on one of the columns, which was precariously half-propped against the ceiling, a temporary respite.

"You should go," Jeffrey told Daisy, Simmons and the others. By then, even May was starting to show glimmers of her true self, clearly uncomfortable with the horrific damage that had been wrought upon the base, the lives lost, and the heroic man who was about to sacrifice himself to save them.

"I can't leave you," Daisy said desperately, sinking to her knees. "I can't lose you, Jeffrey. I can't lose one more person or I don't know…" She choked back a sob, trying to think of any solution to the impending disaster, knowing there was none…

"Daisy, I don't know what we are to each other back in that 'real world' of yours, and I would have loved to have found out." His beautiful blue eyes twinkled, even now, in such a terrifying proximity to death. "But if I'm me in your world, I know I'd be okay with doing this. Not least of all because it will keep you safe."

Just then, a brain wave hit Daisy and she impatiently wiped her tears away, collecting herself and planning rapidly. "I said I can't lose you," she explained, "And I won't. If I can use my powers to keep the ceiling from falling, can you wedge the column against it tightly enough to make a run for it so that we can all get out?"

"It's a total gamble," Jeffrey objected. "For all we know, doing that would just make the whole place collapse even faster."

"No," Daisy insisted, knowing that she'd let emotion conquer common sense and not caring — knowing that when the chips were down, her gut instincts were her common sense. She looked at the anxious faces of her friends, each of them bereft of a solution, and nodded back at Mace. "We can do this. On three."

Jeffrey looked deeply into her eyes, again as if he was looking for something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Reaching out for Daisy, for the memories of them. Then he nodded as well. "Okay."

Daisy was eternally grateful to Framework Ward for having swiped some terrigen from HYDRA headquarters before they came to SHIELD. so that she could get her powers back in time for this battle. She hit the ceiling with an incredibly strong, yet focused and controlled blast of quake energy until it was safely frozen and Jeffrey grabbed hold of the column, pushing it fully back into place.

Daisy grabbed Mace's hand as they, along with Coulson, Simmons, Ward, May, and Mack ran like hell out of the building. They made it to a safe distance, panting and terrified, before the whole base exploded behind them.

"Damn," Coulson sighed, reflecting the shock they all felt.

"I think I've been fighting for the wrong side," May murmured, confused at the ideas that were coming into her mind.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Phil replied, smiling warmly. "By the way, I'm Phil Coulson…"

"Okay, guys, we'll have time for all that once we get back to the real world," Daisy interrupted, unable to suppress a smile at how drawn together Coulson and Phil were in any circumstance.

"We need to get to the specific area of the Framework where a back door has been built into the programming," Jemma said slightly breathlessly, recovering from her intense run. "But first, we have to get Fitz."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," a cold, evil voice piped up behind them. They turned around to see that Fitz, accompanied by Madame Hydra (who was really AIDA) and yet more armed agents, was bearing down on them. "Please, don't stop talking about me on my account. I'm blushing."

"You know what?" Daisy replied, standing and wiping cement dust from her knees, the sight of their imperious enemies' scowls making her roll her eyes. "This is getting really old." Her hands flew up and before the guards knew what hit them, they'd been knocked to the ground by her powers. "May?" Daisy asked, eager to show a little trust in her friend now that her Framework self was beginning to return to her true personality. May nodded and collected the enemy weapons.

"Fitz, you're coming with us," Jemma said boldly.

"Why would I go anywhere with you?" Fitz argued, but it sounded as if he was only really arguing with his own subconscious understanding that he did know something about the real world and his love for Simmons. "My place is here, with—"

"Here?" Daisy asked, "With this android who's brainwashed you into thinking you love her, that you believe HYDRA's message of hate? Even if there's a chance we're telling you the truth, why would you want to risk staying here in this fake world, being AIDA's puppet?" She shook her head. "That could never be worth risking. Not when there's a real world, and the real love of your life to get back to." She thought about Mace and couldn't help a half-smile at the idea of getting back to their happiness, too. It felt so damn close, she could almost taste it. If only Fitz could see!

"You can't listen to this monster," AIDA / Madame Hydra argued weakly. Now Daisy knew why AIDA had "killed" Jemma in the Framework. Now that Simmons was there, the villain had no idea how to make the forced and artificial relationship she'd shoved Fitz into compete with the mere sight of his true soulmate.

"Does this help?" May asked, punching AIDA out. As helpless as any human in the Framework, AIDA crumpled to the ground. "Do I need to do that to you as well?" May asked Fitz, since they'd already confiscated his gun.

"You'll all pay for this," Fitz managed confusedly, his eyes wild. Still, he followed along as Jemma led the way to the Framework's exit.

They woke up slowly, groggily, and prepared for the inevitable vengeance of AIDA. But instead of immediately lunging at the SHIELD agents she'd used as pawns in her sick game, the android merely cocked her head to one side and stared at Fitz. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned. Beside him, Jemma woke more quickly, having been in the Framework for a shorter time. She quietly disconnected herself from the machine.

"How do you feel about me, Leopold?" AIDA asked, her voice soft with vulnerability and fear that surprised Daisy.

There was no remnant of his evil Framework persona in Fitz's demeanor now. "I feel as if I want to hate you," Fitz explained in a slightly hoarse voice, "but it's pointless to bother because you're not a person. Everything you've done to bring yourself closer to humanity has driven you even further away from understanding what it is to be one of us. Your total lack of sympathy and compassion? Your bloodlust? They've undone every chance you ever had to achieve real sentience, AIDA. So how do I feel? Like I'm trying to care enough to feel sorry for you."

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that," AIDA replied icily, pulling a sharp knife from behind her back, clearly intending to kill Fitz if he refused to love her.

"Oh I don't think so, bitch!" Simmons exclaimed furiously, tackling the android and wresting the blade from her grasp. Fitz used AIDA's off switch before she could do anything more to retaliate.

Simmons collapsed gratefully into Fitz's arms as his apologies tumbled out needlessly. Nearby, Coulson was lifting a very woozy May from her own machine.

"She's going to need medical attention right away," Phil observed in concern. "She was in there the longest." He lifted May in his arms and headed back towards the Quinjet.

"Let's go guys," Mack resolved, striding forward. "Once we get May settled, I need to go see about a girl. There's something I need to say that I've been running from for far too long."

Daisy smiled, exhausted and sore from her ordeal but glad to hear that Mack meant to finally stop hiding the extent of his feelings for YoYo. She helped Jeffrey to ease out of his mechanical bindings and melted in his immediate embrace, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms around her, his palms and fingers caressing her back.

"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it back," Daisy whispered, overwhelmed with the thought of what had very nearly happened.

"Hey," Mace replied, his hands resting on the sides of her face, "I'm here, thanks to your quick thinking. And I'm not going anywhere. It's time I stopped doubting myself and accepted that being a regular old SHIELD agent is good enough."

"You're damn right it is," Daisy answered with a smile. "With or without powers, you're far from an ordinary man, Jeffrey Mace."

"Stop it, you're making me blush," Mace joked before leaning in to kiss her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, with the P.D.A.," Mack complained in jest. "Come on, you two, we're leaving." His wink revealed that he was far from annoyed and Daisy grinned.

"Come on, let's go home," Daisy said to Mace, and took his hand.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Happily ever after**

 **A few months later**

Daisy laughed as Jeffrey guided her into her quarters with his hands over her eyes to preserve a surprise he'd prepared. "I can't stand the suspense!" She complained, pretending to attempt prying his hands away. "What's this all about, and why did you want me to dress up?"

"As if I need a reason to want to see you all dressed up?" Mace asked and she could hear the wink in his voice. "Or all _un_ dressed up for that matter." His hands fell away and Daisy looked around to see that the candlelit room was strewn with white rose petals, a table prepared for a meal with two wine glasses.

Jeffrey was looking almost unfairly dapper in a black button-down shirt and matching trousers, while she'd put on a dark blue, gauzy dress whose skirt flounced up just above her knees. The dress had a low v neckline whose shining accents sparkled in the flickering candlelight.

"So, a nice dinner, a romantic setting, fancy clothes, any particular reason why you wanted to do all of this?" Daisy inquired, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling, hyperaware of an excitement that seemed to sizzle in the air, like this was a momentous occasion of some kind and it could just be felt between them instinctively.

"As a matter of fact there is, but if you don't mind following me on this one, you need to sit down first. I've got it all planned out." Daisy noticed the nervous quaver in Mace's voice, his adorably serious intentness on sticking with what he'd organized, and it made her want to cover him in kisses immediately.

"Okay, then," she agreed, settling in at the table, playing with the rose petals that lay on the tablecloth, trying and failing to distract herself from her excitement.

"Daisy," Jeffrey continued, taking his own seat, "Do you remember how you told me you felt when we first got back after the Framework?"

"You mean during those first few weeks afterwards?" Daisy recalled. "Yeah, how could I forget? I was half out of my mind with worry because your withdrawal symptoms from the Patriot serum ended up being worsened by what you went through, being hooked up to those machines, your consciousness trapped in a virtual reality. I couldn't concentrate on anything except wondering if you were going to be okay. I felt totally helpless. Thank God Simmons was able to come up with a medication to counteract the effects of the serum."

"And I'm eternally grateful that it worked and that I've gotten to be here, with you, with the team, fighting the good fight since my recovery," Mace explained. "Learning that you were right — well, of course you were right, you're Daisy Johnson." Daisy grinned. "You were right that I didn't need powers to be a good agent, to make a difference. That just by giving my all for the cause, I'd be doing enough. It means something. And I _have_ purpose. In great part, Daisy, you gave me that, you helped me to this realization that's come to define my life, and you've made my life amazing just by being in it."

Daisy felt tears spring into her eyes and wiped them away dismissively, her cheeks burning and her heart racing. "You did all the work yourself. I just loved you, that's all."

"That's all?" Mace repeated, shaking his head. "That's everything, Daisy. And there's something I wanted to say to you that first night after we got back, when we were lying there in bed after I'd had a seizure a few hours before. You told me how panicked you felt and how powerless to help me, and I wanted to tell you I'd always be there for you. I'm not going anywhere ever, unless you tell me to. I wanted to tell you that if I'm lucky enough that you love me the way I love you, I believe there's no force in the world that could keep us apart. Because we'll always be stronger than any problem we face. Look at the way we got out of that damn crumbling building back in the Framework. Even when I had no idea who you were, I felt that we were meant to be together and that by working with each other, we could win. I could feel how much I needed you, even without knowing why or how it could be possible, and that made me trust you. It's you and me, Daisy, forever…if you'll have me."

With that, he came over and got down on one knee. Daisy pressed a hand to her heart in total shock as he drew out a small box and opened it to reveal a ring that was just exactly the kind she would have chosen for herself. It was elegant and subtle, a band of silver encasing a dark blue gem that actually matched her dress, come to think of it. So _that's_ why she'd recently caught Jeffrey going through her things, the jumbled piles of necklaces, the mismatched piles of earrings she kept on the table in her bedroom.

"Daisy," Jeffrey said, his voice a little choked with emotion as he held the ring up to her almost humbly. "You are quite frankly the most incredible woman in the entire world. That has ever lived," he added, causing her to giggle even though she was also crying. Through the haze of tears clinging to her eyelashes, Daisy looked down at his gorgeous, anxious face, his eyes lit up with a love and tenderness that only reconfirmed how special he was to her and how much she also needed him.

"Hey, you saved me too," she reminded him, reaching out to caress his face. "Before I met you, I thought love was just some kind of a cruel joke I could never be a part of, that I had to be the lone wolf out there alone, battling through it all without ever having someone to come home to, my best friend, my everything, _you_. Jeffrey, you showed me what it's like to have a love that makes me feel complete and makes every day this exhilarating adventure I can't wait to start." As he grinned up at her, Daisy raised an eyebrow and asked archly, "Now what is that, exactly?" She nodded down at the ring and he laughed.

"This is an engagement ring, Daisy," he deadpanned.

"Go on," Daisy encouraged and they both laughed again, overwhelmed with mutual joy.

"Daisy Johnson," Jeffrey resumed, taking her hand and looking deeply into her eyes, the passion in his gaze sending a shiver through her whole body, right down to the fingertips he clasped, his warm touch reassuring her nervousness at this massive development. "Will you marry me?"

"I will," Daisy answered unhesitatingly. "Of course I will!" She threw her arms around him and he lifted her with him as he stood, spinning her around as he pressed his lips to hers.

Drawing back slightly, he handed her the ring. "Oh, did you want this, by the way?"

"Hmm, well, I guess I may as well wear it," Daisy grinned, sliding it onto her finger. "It's perfect."

"I guess I know what you like," He said proudly, "Though I did have to untangle quite a few pieces of jewelry from each other to even tell what kinds of colors or textures you gravitate to. And I noticed that you wear this color a lot." Jeffrey's strong hands wandered up and down Daisy's dress and she moved in closer against him.

"Sorry about the tangles, but I'm notoriously disorganized with my stuff," Daisy admitted, resting her hands on his chest. "Good thing this ring won't be leaving my finger, so it'll be saved the struggle that is being a piece of jewelry owned by me. And by the way…"

"Hmm?" Mace asked, his fingers wandering from the zipper at the small of her back up to the bare skin between it and her neck.

"You're damn right you know what I like," Daisy murmured, kissing his mouth and bringing his other hand to her thigh beneath her skirt. She trembled with anticipation as his touch found its way to her panties.

Jeffrey paused for a teasing moment and asked, "Don't you want to know what's for dinner?"

"Not yet," she assured him, gasping as he slipped a finger inside her panties, his irresistible lips kissing her neck as he explored her. Daisy groaned in pleasure-delayed frustration as he slowly pulled the panties off and fell to his knees before her. After he'd made it quite clear that he planned to drive her even crazier than ever before with his foreplay skills, Daisy lightly kneed him until he willingly fell backward onto the floor so that she could fall on top of him, her fingers flying to the button on his pants as she hastened to feel all of him inside her. She could the heat of his stare as she lowered herself and began to move, finding a rhythm. Daisy sighed Jeffrey's name as maddeningly insatiable pleasure jolted through her, watching with satisfaction as he came, loving that she could fulfill his desires as thoroughly as he did hers.

"So," Daisy said afterward, trailing lazy patterns on Jeffrey's chest as they lay breathless on the floor, "You cooked?"

Mace laughed and ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her back with his other hand. "You're a demanding woman."

"Well, I think it was you who wanted a happily ever after with a girl who never believed in fairy tales, so maybe we have that 'bossy' thing in common," Daisy winked.

"I guess that makes you the one who demanded I stop feeling sorry for myself and realize who I truly was, so we really are even," Jeffrey added. "Thank you, Daisy. Forever thank you. And I love you. And…"

"Yes?" Daisy asked.

"I _did_ cook."


End file.
